


Miraculous Ladybug

by LuckyIrish19



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, OC Villains-Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-11-15 02:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11221431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyIrish19/pseuds/LuckyIrish19
Summary: Three years...Three long years since crime took it's biggest drop in history, leaving our hero to attend to her studies and is now starting college.But when news comes of darker, more vicious villains, who knows what will become of our beloved polka-dotted crime-fighter?





	1. Foreword

All credit goes to Thomas Astruc and his producers. Please support the official release.

I will add in music as well, so all credit goes to its respected creators. And another thing, some of the music from the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies is on YouTube from ari3mj, so look themup for the experience.

Oh, and most of the scenes will be like Spider-Man 2-3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 1-2.

So for those of you who can pick this stuff out, Ha!

And this story will be a bit darker and more serious than the actual cartoon, so for those of you who are too young for blood and intensity, please refrain from reading this story.

Thank you and enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Familiar voices and faces...

I was listening to **Mr. Blue Sky** from **Electric Light Orchestra** while typing this part.

 

"Marinette..." a high-pitched girl voice softly called, "Hello?"

The 18-year-old girl's eye twitched slightly.

"Wakey wakey..." the voice called again, gently.

Marinette's eye groggily opened then closed again.

"Rise and shine..." it called another time.

The girl slightly shifted her head.

"WAKE UP!" Tikki shouted.

Marinette's eyes snapped open immediately and her head instinctively shot up and struck the ceiling with a rather loud thud.

"Why are you yelling?" the girl whined, her eyes half open once again and her hand rubbing the top of her head.

"You're going to be late for your first day!" the tiny ladybug exclaimed.

Marinette's eyes widened as she fumbled for her phone.

 

8:42 a.m.

 

"Why didn't you try to wake me up?!" the girl complained.

"I DID!" Tikki cried back.

Marinette scrambled out of her top bunk and raced to get her clothes on. Her unkempt hair falling onto resting just on top of her shoulders. She quickly dropped a piece of bread into a toaster. The girl hurriedly slid into her jeans and white long sleeve shirt with holes for her thumbs, as well as hastily tying her sneakers on her feet. The toast popped out of the machine just as Marinette slung on her brown leather jacket. She snatched the food out and lightly bit down on it to finish dressing up. Marinette quickly slung on her backpack and knapsack. She nearly dashed out the door before she remembered something. The girl turned around and snatched up her knapsack and camera (as a new hobby for inspiration).

 

_Later..._

 

Marinette pedaled hard and fast as she passed cars on a rain-soaked sidewalk, occasionally lifting her hand off the handle to eat her toast. The shimmering dazzles made by the reflection of streetlights glinted off the tiny bodies of water.

The wind lashed at her undone hair.

"You have ten minutes!" Tikki cried.

"Not helping!" Marinette responded.

The girl looked ahead and a bleak sense of dread came over her. A crash of two cars lay right in front of her path, the front ends of both vehicles completely destroyed and steaming with a man and woman looking rather down standing next to the site. Marinette expertly swerved around the wreckage without being hit herself.

As she passed by, she shouted to the depressed man and woman, "Things'll get better! I promise!"

Six minutes later, the girl arrived at the college campus. She hastily parked her bike and put a lock around it, then dashed into the building.

Marinette passed Nino as she madly dashed towards the elevator.

"Hi, Nino!" she said quickly.

The girl halted right in front of the elevator and was rapidly pressing the up button.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," she muttered to herself, pacing left and right.

The elevator dinged and Marinette bolted inside and jabbed at the floor button as vigorously as before.

About fifteen seconds later, the doors opened again and the girl rushed for the final stretch.

The girl swung the classroom door open just as the bell began to ring. Marinette spotted her friend Alya a few rows back, an empty seat right next to her. The blogger had finally done something with her hair as it was braided and draped over her right shoulder. However, she still wore the same plaid flannel shirt and jeans as always. A camera sat in front of her, a tool to use for her job.

Marinette made her way over and flopped onto the chair.

"Late night as the crime-fighter?" her friend asked.

"No, actually," the hero replied, "It was another quiet night."

Marinette had revealed to Alya that she was Ladybug over a year ago. Thankfully, the blogger knew how to keep a secret, but to avoid suspicion, she continued her blog in attempts to "unmask" the polka-dotted hero.

"Hello, class," the elderly professor said, setting his belongings on his desk, "Welcome home and to Graphics 101."

 

**This is where I stopped the music.**

 

_2 hours later..._

 

Marinette stepped out onto the campus courtyard, holding her camera up and at the ready. The sun began to shine through the clouds, causing the fountain in the middle to sparkle like amber and jasper diamonds.

The girl aimed her camera and snapped a shot.

Just after that, she heard far noise from her right, like chanting.

She went over to investigate to find a crowd of people surrounding a cafe table. Marinette pushed her way through to find a large, sporty jock junior, a man named Armand "Armor" Dubois holding up a freshman and pressing the kid's face against disgusting looking food. Marinette had been warned of him beforehand.

"Eat your vegetables, Tyler," Armor demanded, then spotted Marinette, "Hey, freshy! Take a picture of this."

"Put him down, Armor," the girl politely responded.

"Take the picture," the jock demanded more forcefully.

"Put him down, Armand!" Marinette said loudly.

The crowd's chanting turned to troublesome calls.

Rage emitted from the sportsman as he threw the scrawny boy to the side.

"Hey, you okay?" Marinette asked the boy as she tried to approach him.

Armand struck the girl in the stomach. Marinette doubled over, the wind escaping her lungs. She stumbled back for a split second, clenching her midsection, and was then followed by a right hook to her cheek. The girl fell to the ground, rolling in pain.

"Get up freshy!" the jock shouted at the downed student.

"Still not taking the picture," Marinette wheezed, rolling from side to side, clutching her stomach.

"Who wants more?!" Armand asked the crowd.

They began to cheer before a familiar face approached the jock.

"Cut it out, man," Kim said, "She's not worth the time."

"She asked for it," Armand shot back.

"Then I guess you have no problem explaining to the principal why you beat up a freshman on her first day," another familiar face said.

Chloe Bourgeois knelt next to Marinette, comforting her and helping her up.

"What're you gonna do?" Armand shot back, "Have daddy sue my daddy?"

"No,” Chloe responded, “But I’m sure another strike won’t bode well with your coach.”

A wave of dread fell over the brunette jocks face.

"That's what I thought," the girl sneered.

Marinette batted Chloe away as she rubbed her stomach.

The crowd dispersed before Marinette sat down and reached for her camera. It had a couple of scratches but nothing else appeared to be damaged.

Alya tapped the girl’s shoulder and offered her a hand up.

“I thought your skin was tougher than that,” the friend said as she pulled the girl up, “I kinda remember you telling me that some powers bleed into your normal form. I’m surprised he didn’t break his hand.”

“Yeah,” Marinette replied, “But they don’t know that.”

“Hey, I’m starving,” Alya brought up.

“I could eat,” Marinette agreed.

 

Listening to **Versailles for Sore Eyes** from **Assassin’s Creed Unity Official Game Soundtrack Vol. 1**

 

_Half an hour later…_

The two girls pushed aside the doors to the main lobby area.

The place had a glass ceiling with an overhang of the three floors of the building. The ground floor had contemporary furniture and tables, with top of the line restaurants feeding the hungry students.

“I don’t know what I pulled out of my butt to get into a place like this,” Marinette said in complete awe, “But it was worth it.”

“Girl, no kidding,” Alya agreed.

The two found a spot with two chairs and a glass table after finding some food.

Tikki popped her head out of Marinette’s knapsack, eyeing the delicious looking food.

“Hey, little bug,” Alya greeted with a smile.

“Hi, Alya,” the kwami returned with a chipper tone.

Alya then looked at Marinette, realizing that she hadn’t seen her friend in a long time. Marinette’s face had thinned out a considerable amount, giving her a mature vibe. Her hair had gotten fuller and her skin was no fairer than what it is was three years ago. (Which is flawless, if you haven’t guessed already.)

“So, quick question,” Alya asked before taking a sip of her drink, “What happened to you and Chat Noir? I was actually gonna put money on you two getting together.”

“Erhm,” Marinette started, a wave of awkward tension washing over her face, “I might have accidentally… ahem… broken… his… heart?”

Alya stared at the girl with the most unamused look on her face for a couple of seconds. The woman then gently set down her glass cup.

“Okay, first things first,” the friend started with a calm tone, turning to face Marinette, “You do not _‘accidentally’_ break someone’s heart.”

“That’s what I said,” Tikki squeaked.

“Second,” Alya resumed, then suddenly grabbed her friend by the shoulders and pulled her in closer, “Why?!”

“H-he simply wouldn’t grow up,” Marinette answered, “He never took anything seriously.”

“It’s because you were into Adrien at the time, weren’t you?” Alya guessed, releasing the girl.

“Yeah,” Marinette replied, looking ashamed, “But that was before I found out he had friendzoned me and decided to up and vanish to God knows where shortly after.”

 

“Breaking news,” the TV’s blared, “We have received reports of a stolen truck full of plutonium heading from Belleville to Paluel is now wreaking havoc upon Paris. We have yet to identify the four criminals. Police are having a troublesome time trying to— “

The news anchor pressed against their earpiece.

“We have just been informed that Chat Noir is now aiding in the pursuit of this truck,” they continued.

 

“I think you better get going,” Alya said, turning to face away from the screen and towards her friend, only to find her seat already empty, “And you’re gone.”

Then, a tangerine mini fox poked it’s head out Alya’s camera bag.

“Hey, how come you never treat me like Tikki?” Trixx asked.

“Because Tikki isn’t a dirty little liar,” Alya answered her kwami.

“Sorry, force of habit,” the fox murmured.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question, and please feel free to answer this. When I was working on this chapter on Word (because I'm lazy) and I went to paste it and the first half of the chapter's sentences started out with "data-p-id" and was followed by a compilation of numbers and letters. Has this happened to anyone else?
> 
> Come bother me on Wattpad (LuckyIrish19) and check out some of my earlier works!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Same old story, same old song and dance, my friend!" Aerosmith, Same Old Song and Dance

(Listening to **I’m Spider-Man,** **The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack** )

 

Sirens squealed across the concrete skyline. The sound of large truck engines bellowing of the buildings.

A familiar girl in a red suit began to plummet towards the ground, the wind rushing past her ears. The new suit conforming comfortably to her body. The air whipping at her ears crescendoed as she suddenly slung a line of scarlet red silk from her wrist several meters above the ground.

Her new suit looked terrific, a little odd to look at for the first time, but looked amazing nonetheless. Her hair was no longer pulled into pigtails, but now her bangs were swept finely to her left and into a clean bun with a red ribbon holding it in place as the ends pointed upwards like a pair of antennae. She now had a mostly black suit, with her shoulders, upper chest and back covered by red wide V-shapes with black polka-dots. Her palms were black but her fingers and thumbs were red and for her feet, black around the arches but the toes and heels were covered in scarlet armor. And over her forearms, elbows, knee-caps, and calves was a second layer of black armor, accentuating her physique. 

Her mask, however, remained the same.

“Alright, Tikki,” the hero said, tapping her earrings mid-swing, “What’s Paris got for me today?”

“Four armed men, with one in the driver’s seat of course,” the kwami explained telepathically, the buzz of a news helicopter zooming by filling the girl’s ears, “The plutonium should be sealed, but if in the event of misfortune, your suit will protect you from the radiation. The truck is currently heading down 5th Avenue.”

“Looks like my work’s cut out for me,” Ladybug responded with a smile.

 

(Listening to **Cold War** , **The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack** )

 

A semi-truck horn blared as it sped past and into civilian cars, the driver laughing maniacally as he ignored the dozens of police cars chasing after him. The criminal suddenly jerked the wheel to the right and into oncoming traffic. The truck smashed into an unsuspecting taxi cab, sending the car barreling to the side.

Chat Noir leapt off the side of a building and landed on the hood of a police car with a thud. His emerald green eyes rescanned the situation before he bounded over to the next car, nearing the wild semi.

Ladybug slung both hands towards buildings on either side, pulling with tremendous strength as she commanded the burgundy ropes to reel in at the same time. Launching up into the air feet first, she released her grasp and spiraled. As she reached the top of the arc, she stopped spinning and slightly held her arms up behind her, striking a pose and getting the view of the city skyline. She somersaulted as she careened back down to earth, flicking her wrist, and resuming her swinging.

“Ladybug!” a little girl shouted as the hero zoomed by.

“Good morning, Paris!” the bug called as she arced her swing to the right, going with the stream of cop cars.

The three other criminals kneeled down onto the top of the metal crate, welding masks on and torches in hand. Bright sparks flew as they cut a circle through the ceiling of the crate. The metal disk fell as the circle was complete, the criminals dropping in in a mad rush to claim the invaluable material.

Chat Noir sprung onto the side of the crate and carefully clawed his way to the driver.

The criminal intently stared at the car filled streets when he suddenly saw a black hand playfully knock at the window.

“Hello? Monsieur Bad Guy?” the cat joked as he made the roll down the window gesture.

The man lowered the window, letting the hero lean in and extend his hand.

“Hi, I’m Chat Noir!”

The thief snarled.

“You can call me Chat, you can call me kitty,” the black-clad man continued and then said with a smile, “Just don’t call me late for dinner, am I right?”

The criminal’s confused gaze switched between the road and the hero, then suddenly heard another thud on the roof of the vehicle.

“Whoa!” Chat yipped, barely dodging the thief’s punch.

Then, red legs dropped down over the open window, which was followed by an upside-down masked female face.

“I don’t think he’s a shaker,” Ladybug said.

“Are you a hugger?” Chat pestered.

The others carefully removed the sealed pylons of the amber glowing substance and into bags, making sure they didn’t break anything.

The driver roared as he tried to crush the heroes into a building. He came close but not close enough for it to even touch them. However, it did succeed throwing Ladybug off. The girl swiftly reacted and placed her open palm onto the side of the truck, landing her other hand and feet to side. The surface was flat, and she should have become paste on the road, but instead she clung to the vertical surface as a bug would stick to a wall.

“That’s new,” Chat complimented.

“Wall-crawling is surprisingly useful,” the red hero replied.

Just then, a sharp surge raced up the back of her neck.

Car. Flying.

Civilians.

In the way.

Ladybug hurriedly crawled her way back to the driver and held up her index finger to the man.

“I’mma just take a second,” she said, sounding nervous, “I’ll be right back.”

The hero quickly slung another strand of the red residue and arced her swing sharply.

The truck driver let out a scream of rage as he rammed into an empty parked car, sending it flying in the air.

The airborne vehicle rapidly descended onto a mother and children. The woman grabbed her son and shielded her child, bracing for impact.

The polka-dotted hero landed and clung to the roof of the spiraling car, overturning once more.

With a mighty thud, Ladybug’s feet touched down, holding the heavy vehicle above her head like a barbell.

The two civilians stared in shock and awe at the hero’s speed and strength, joining her with a smile.

“Hi!” she said, tossing the car upwards and back onto its wheels, the shocks squeaking as the metal frame bounced.

“You okay?” the masked hero questioned.

“We are now,” the mother thanked happily.

“I gotta go real quick!” the hero hastily added, and then pointed to the boy, “Tell your friends Ladybug says hello!”

With a flick of her wrist, the polka-dotted heroine zipped away to join the chaos.

The semi driver and Chat Noir grunted as both tugged at the wheel of the vehicle, struggling to gain control.

“Listen, your maman and papa aren’t mad,” the black-clad hero grunted, yanking control of the wheel, “We’re just disappointed!”

The driver growled as he furiously opened his door, sending Chat’s legs flopping in the air. The hero struggled as his hands suddenly slipped off the wheel, sending the semi-truck swerving wildly.

With one mighty and sudden jerk, the black-clad hero slipped, sending him tumbling down the road for a brief second. With a flick of his wrist, a strap of black fabric leaped from his hand and slung itself around a handle on the cargo crate attached.

Sparks flew from Chat’s boots as they skidded on the asphalt. He suddenly noticed an intersection had let the traffic heading to the side out.

Chat let go of the strap of fabric, abruptly sliding back.

The driver gasped as he slammed on the brakes, the wheels screeching as the rubber rubbed against the road. The men on the inside of the tow stumbling around like fools as the sudden change in momentum rocked the crate, jostling the nuclear ore.

Several civilian cars swerved out of the way, but one slammed right into the wheel of the truck.

The police cars turned to their sides, forming a blockade around the back of the semi. Officers rushed out of their vehicles as the crate doors swung open, revealing the men inside bearing assault rifles.

The criminals then unleashed a torrent of bullets, riddling the police cars with bullet holes as the officers ducked behind cover.

Suddenly, three straps of black fabric lunged from out of nowhere, looping around the rifles firmly as they were forcefully yanked from the criminals’ grip.

Another set of lengths of black cloth followed up their predecessors as they wrapped around the men’s ankles, girlishly squealing as they were abruptly dragged upwards into the air.

Upside-down, the criminals raised their hands in surrender as Chat Noir tied the other ends of the fabric into a pretty little bow onto the top of a lamp-post.

The driver looked in his side view mirror and slammed his foot into the gas pedal, the tires screeching once more as it shoved through the oncoming traffic.

Unknowingly, shaking the nuclear vials loose from the constraints, sending them bouncing around inside the crate.

Just then, Ladybug zoomed past Chat Noir and smoothly landed inside the crate.

“Got you!” she called as she caught a vial spiraling out, catching another in her empty hand, “Got you!”

“Oh!” the girl said as her back slammed against the wall from a sudden turn, catching another vial with the adhesion on her foot, “Got you too!”

The driver growled as he barreled through a construction zone, jostling the tow behind him even more as workers jumped out of the way.

“Oh no you don’t!” Ladybug said, cartwheeling up the side of the crate to where she hung upside down on the ceiling, collecting more and more of the volatile substance with red silk webbing, “You’re not going anywhere! No, don’t--! Come here! Come here! Come to maman!”

The criminal driving the truck bellowed in rage as he blew into a pile of trash, sending the garbage flying all over.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Ladybug joked as she wrangled up the last of the plutonium.

“Whew,” she sighed, dangling from the hole in the ceiling, awkwardly holding every vial of radioactive material in her hands, on her feet, squeezed between her legs and armpits.

As fate would have it, a singular vial that had not fallen from its restraint shook loose and bounced out of the speeding vehicle.

“Oh, come on,” Ladybug whined, leaping out of the vehicle with the canisters.

In mid-air, she slung webbing around the vials and threw a strand over to the side of a building.

The last canister bounded off the ground and on top of the hood of a pursuing police car.

“Hey! Come back!” the heroine ordered, swinging after the rogue material.

“Heel!” she jokingly commanded, watching as the glowing glass tube bounced off of a fire hydrant and rolled into the middle of the street.

“Got ya!” Ladybug cheered, swiping up the vial as she planted her feet firmly on the ground.

The back of her neck twinged.

Car.

Behind you.

Ladybug’s head then suddenly swiveled to look behind her. A police van speeding towards her at a dangerously short distance came barreling down the street.

The heroine let out a goofy squeal as her back slammed into the grill, the van carrying her away.

 

( **End Music** )

 

Ladybug clung well enough to the vehicle, thanks to her new wall-crawling ability. She was unharmed; however, she could not say the same for the van’s front bumper.

Just then, the instrumental version of her theme song jingled, catching her attention.

She carefully tucked the encased radioactive material under her chin as she reached for her yo-yo; then, taking the vial in her other hand and flipping open her weapon like a flip phone, placing it against her ear.

“Hi, sorry,” she apologized, “Had to bail. You know, hero stuff.”

“I can tell,” Alya replied, “Where are you?”

“I think Rue Biot?” the hero answered, “Look, it’s probably going to be another twenty minutes.”

“Your next class starts in fifteen!” the friend quietly screamed.

“Crap!” Ladybug cursed.

“You better hurry up girl!” Alya ordered, “Because it’ll take you five just to get back here in time!”

“I need to go!” the girl said, hanging up.

Ladybug then hurriedly slung another strand of webbing, zipping away at an incredible speed.

 

(Listening to **No Place Like Home, The Amazing Spider-Man 2** )

 

“Girl, you--!” Alya halted, staring at her ended call, “She hung up on me!”

“Like idle chatter would help her go faster,” Trixx followed up.

 

The driver to the semi growled again as he sped past, with two heroes and dozens of police cars on his tail.

Ladybug and Chat Noir’s feet clunked as they landed on the hood of the truck.

“If we could hurry this up, that would be great!” the girl shouted, tapping her wrist like she had a watch on, “I’m running a little late!”

“Get off!” the criminal screamed back.

“Suit yourself!” Chat said, balling up his fist and striking the wind-shield, sending cracks rippling across the glass.

 

“Maman,” Marinette said, three years ago, “Papa. If I were Ladybug, if that were possible, what would you say to me?”

Tom Dupain then to his daughter, gently placing his large hands on her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye.

“We would be the proudest parents in the universe,” the father answered, smiling.

 

Ladybug’s spine tickled, her eyes widening.

Bus.

Civilians.

Crash.

The heroine jerked her neck to look behind her, her sight harrowingly greeted with a passenger bus pulling out in front of them, with a grandfather and little girl holding hands next to it.

From the sound of it, the semi driver had no intention of stopping.

“Chat!” she shouted.

 

“We would want our daughter to keep fighting the good fight,” Sabine Cheng followed up, turning her child around and holding both hands.

“And that despite the heartbreak and sorrows that come with the responsibility,” the father continued, “She will keep fighting, not because she needs to…”

 

The semi slammed into the side of the bus, sending everything into slow motion.

The two heroes leapt up, launching themselves over the bus. Ladybug quickly attached webbing to the plutonium and hurled it at a lamp-post as both she and Chat flipped over the passenger vehicle.

“…But because she wants to.”

 

The two heroes then shoved against the rogue bus, Ladybug pressing her back into the side as Chat Noir shouldered it.

They rammed their feet into the ground, kicking up chunks of asphalt as they dug their heels in, stopping the swerving bus in its tracks.

The grandfather, whom was shielding his granddaughter, then slowly looked back up to see the heroes making sure if everyone was okay.

All the passengers cheered and applauded as the two rushed away.

 

“And no parent could ever be prouder of their child,” the mother finished.

 

The criminal jumped out from his crashed vehicle and snatched away the dangling vial of radioactive material, assault rifle in hand.

He quickly heard the two heroes approaching behind him, swiftly turning and unleashed a wave of bullets.

The heroic couple leapt up, dodging every red-hot projectile as they coolly somersaulted in the air.

Ladybug landed right in front of the thief, shoving his rifle up, sending it flying all the way up in the air.

The criminal attempted to throw a punch, which failed as black fabric wrapped around his hand as the other end clung to the opposite wall.

Ladybug then began whistling her theme song, watching as the man in front of her threw another swing, failing in the same way.

The heroine then stepped to the side as Chat Noir slung another strand around the man’s belt and yanked down, exposing the criminal’s undergarments.

The man struggled to break loose, but to no avail, watching as the two heroes walked away calmly, side by side.

“This isn’t over!” the man shouted, “You hear me! This isn’t the end!”

The two heroes then fist-bumped just as the rifle came tumbling down on the criminal’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I'm not dead!  
> Sorry for the long wait. Got busy with other stories and college. I can tell already fun times await, heheheheheheh.  
> Anyways, let me know how I'm doing by commenting. Any feedback, good or bad, is highly valued.  
> But don't tell me to post faster, that I cannot do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is late once more before she runs into an enemy turned friend...

 

Ladybug watched the police officers shove the four criminals into an armored truck, Chat Noir joining her by her side.

She hadn’t really had time to take a look at his new outfit, but now she had the chance.

He had armor much like her’s, however, his had a dark grey hue and rounded off around the ends of his wrists. As for the armor around his toes, there were two creases on both sides, giving off the illusion of paw toes. However, they weren’t bulky like before, rather subtle to be fair.

Rather than a bell at the base of his neck, a golden cat face crest sat firmly as it held a black ascot that was tucked between the folds of his lifted suit-like collar.

Neon green accents traced around his shoulders, much like her own costume’s design, joined into an obtuse V-shape on his upper back and lined down the sides of his forward midsection.

There were a few other things she noticed that had changed.

For one, his fingers no longer had claws, which made it awkward to look at. And his tail was now, what looked like, a large and long strip of black fabric that was wrapped around his waist three times and subtly slid out in the back, moving on it's own.

The next thing was…

Wait, did he start working out more? There is no way he was that muscular before. He wasn’t bodybuilder fit, but definitely at an athlete level.

His hair was even more messy than before, and his faux ears moved on their own, much like a normal cat.

Besides the physical changes, she could note the emotional shifts as well.

He had his arms crossed and his emerald eyes were slightly hung.

Even Ladybug could tell he was uncomfortable around her.

 

“Hey,” the heroine attempted.

“Hey,” the black-clad man replied.

Ladybug bit her lower lip, unprepared with what to say. At this point, she could even feel beads of sweat forming over her brow.

“Look, Chat,” she started, “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“Ladybug,” the cat-boy attempted.

“There was just so much going on,” the heroine tried to defend, “With all of unmasking Hawkmoth to the public, my friends disappearing, and don’t get me started with applying for college--.”

“Ladybug!” Chat exclaimed, giggling faintly.

The black-clad hero then gently grabbed the polka-dotted heroine and turned her to him, his adorably emerald eyes filled with an aura of sympathy.

 

“I’m over it,” he said, “I’m clearly not the one for you. And that’s okay, because I know there are dozens of men out there in the world more deserving of you than I.”

“Oh,” Ladybug croaked, caught completely off guard, “Um, okay.”

“Besides,” Chat shrugged with a smug smile, “It gives the fan-girls more of a chance to check meow-t.”

 

Marinette rolled her eyes the second she heard the pun, a crook of a grin peeking out of the corner of her mouth.

Whether she herself accepted it or not, she actually missed his terrible taste in humor.

And him, as well.

 It was like she had found a piece of herself that she hadn’t realized she had lost, despite being slightly banged up and bruised.

 

“Marinette!” Tikki shouted telepathically.

“Hold on a second,” the girl told her partner, turning away as she tapped one of her earrings, “What is it?”

“Your class!” the kwami screeched, “It starts in five minutes!”

 

(Listening to **Chase by Chase Basis, Assassin’s Creed Unity Soundtrack** )

 

 

The heroic girl’s eyes widened in fear, the horrible feeling of guilt and ignorance quickly setting in.

 

“I’m late for class!” Ladybug exclaimed, snapping her head to inform her partner, “I need to go!”

“Then, go!” Chat responded.

 

Ladybug flicked both wrists, vibrant red silk strands leaping from them as they clung to buildings on both sides.

She growled as she pulled backwards, creating overwhelming tension in the lines, like one would with a slingshot.

The girl suddenly launched forward, careening into the air like a ball from a cannon. The wind whistled in her ears as it viciously tore at her skin.

 

Alya worryingly tapped her foot, stressed out beyond belief as she attempted not to squirm in her seat in the back of the room, staring at the open sunroof window above her.

“Miss Césaire?” the professor called, “Is your friend, Miss… Dupain-Cheng, going to join us?”

“Yes, she will,” the girl answered, “Just give her a few minutes.”

“She has until I call her name,” the instructor permitted, returning to writing on his chalk-board.

 

Ladybug slung another line of silk, kicking off a building to gain speed.

Even through the suit, the wind ripped at her body as she plummeted to the ground.

Traffic sped by in front of her as she joined in on the left side, weaving in and out between the vehicles as she swung by.

Children ooed and awed as they watched the Parisian hero bolt by, bouncing off the sides of semi-trucks and sailing away in tremendous bounds.

 

Ladybug soared upwards, releasing her line as she rocketed upwards. She clenched her hand into a fist and pivoted her wrist up.

A scarlet strand sprung from her balled-up wrist, firing in literally opposite directions. Both ends clamped onto the vertical surfaces of building walls, creating a zipline.

The heroine wrapped her fingers around the taut line, pulling her knees up halfway as the slick silk slid through her clenched fist, giving her a very cinematic pose as she zoomed down the line.

The hero suddenly released her grasp and flung another strand to her right, arcing her momentum sharply.

She rounded the corner with mighty speed, letting go once more as she launched towards a glass window building.

The girl stuck to the smooth surface with her new wall-crawling ability, dashing across the glass diagonally as ran her hand over the windows, keeping herself from falling in case she slipped.

 

There it was! The college campus!

And so was the news helicopter. Terrific.

 

She couldn’t be seen as Ladybug swinging into a school. It would lead to her identity being revealed. She had to lose it somehow.

 

The girl leapt off the glass, catching the attention of the helicopter. The whirring aircraft leaned towards the hero and away from the campus.

The heroine lunged herself over several rooftops, waiting for the right moment.

It wasn’t long after until she felt they were far enough.

Ladybug yanked herself upwards, lifting into the air as she suddenly pivoted around. She dramatically swung her arm at the vehicle, firing an orb of red silk at it.

The ball sailed into the news camera underneath, completely covering the lens in scarlet residue.

The girl smoothly clenched her fist again, firing another zipline away from either side, following up by firing a straight strand behind and pulling on it with fantastic might.

Using the slingshot method once more, she launched herself at the helicopter, which had turned sideways and had both side doors open.

The heroine zipped through the aircraft as she expertly twirled out, swinging away with manic speed.

 

Please, let luck be on her side!

 

“Armand Dubois?” the instructor rattled off.

“Here,” the jock replied.

“Chloé Bourgeois?” the teacher called.

“Here,” the blonde answered.

“Alya Césaire?” the woman continued.

“Here,” the blogger said.

 

Marinette flung another strand down onto the campus roof, arcing down.

She plummeted down, seamlessly zooming through the open sunroof window.

But just as she passed through, her suit disintegrated into tiny hexagons and quickly flowed into her earrings.

With a brief moment of freefall, the girl amazingly landed in her chair next to Alya and quickly posed herself to like she had been there for a while.

 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” the professor called.

“Here,” the teenager replied.

 

( **End Music** )

 

“Oh, my word,” the woman said, sounding quite surprised, “Forgive me. I must not have seen you come in. You nearly gave me a heart-attack.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Marinette apologized, “I’ll try not to do it again.”

“I would appreciate that,” the instructor commented, “It appears that everyone is here. We may now begin class.”

 

Just as the woman turned around, Alya flicked her friend on her forehead.

The blackish-blue haired girl tilted her head slightly in response as she turned her gaze, brows creased and raised.

 

“That’s for stressing me out,” Alya quietly hissed, then following up by lightly punching her friend’s shoulder, “That’s for not telling me you had new powers. You can climb on walls now?”

“And a few other things too,” Marinette whispered.

“And you swing on ropes you shoot from your wrist?” Césaire added, “You’re starting to sound like one of those American superheroes.”

“I noticed that too,” Dupain-Cheng agreed, “But I forgot his name. Wasn’t he associated with spiders?”

“Ugh, I hate spiders,” Alya softly commented, scrunching up her face in disgust, “Scarabs too. They’re just so gross.”

 

_2-3 hours later…_

 

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Alya started, walking by Marinette as they headed towards their apartment, “Chat Noir said he was over you and was willing to look for someone else, all the while looking like he was fine?”

Marinette turned to her friend, the motion of passing cars in the streets in the background.

“Yeah?” she replied, “Why?”

“Girl,” Alya sighed, “Even you could’ve told that he was lying. You are just so adorably oblivious.”

 

(Listening to **You’re My Boy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack** )

 

Just then, another woman accidentally collided into Marinette, causing both of them to drop their things and scatter over the sidewalk.

 

“Oh!” Dupain-Cheng squeaked, “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!”

“Oh, no no!” the unknown girl assured, “Forgive me. I wasn’t paying attention.”

 

The two then knelt down and began gathering their strewn belongings.

Marinette looked up to see who this person was, only to be surprised by their identity.

The girl, appearing to be no older or taller than Marinette herself, had golden eyes and clay brown hair that stretched all the way down to the middle of her back, her bangs flat over her brows. She wore a tan-orange jacket with an irregular zipper with white skinny jeans and black Ugg boots.

 

“Lila?” Dupain-Cheng piped.

“Marinette?” Rossi chirped, a smile creeping over her face.

The red-haired girl jumped up and hugged her friend, the heroic girl returning the embrace kindly.

 

“It’s been so long!” Lila happily greeted, “How have you been?”

“Oh, you know,” Marinette responded with a smile, “Single. I’m sorry about your stuff.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Rossi brushed off, kneeling back down to resume cleaning up.

 

Just as the two finished up, Marinette’s hand landed on some kind of small bottle. The girl lifted it up, finding it was orange with a white lid on top; pills rattling around inside.

 

“Antipsychotics?” Marinette read aloud, standing up, “Lila, you know this medication is given to people with schizophrenia, right?”

The girl looked to her friend, her gaze met with a sullen and knowing expression.

“Oh my God,” Marinette muttered, a wave of guilt hitting her right in her core, “I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s fine,” Lila excused kindly, gently receiving the bottle back, “I’ve had a little more than a year to get used to it.”

“How did this happen?” Alya asked, brows creased with concern.

 

“Remember that akuma that turned me into Volpina?” Rossi began, “Somehow, it bonded itself to me. And over the past couple of years, it’s been slowly getting in my head. Now, every once in a while, I see… her.”

“Who?” Marinette asked.

 

“Volpina,” Lila answered, her voice heavy with sadness.

 

“It’s like looking and talking into a mirror, but the reflection talks back. She always appears whenever I’m troubled or angry, saying that she’ll make it all better or fix the problem herself.”

“I can only recall a couple of times where I blacked out, only to wake up to news that she had hurt people or destroyed something. Right now, that medication is keeping her down, and I want to keep it that way.”

 

“That’s definitely a Jekyll and Hyde scenario if I’ve ever heard one,” Alya commented.

“Lila,” Marinette muttered, attempting to comfort her friend, “I’m so sorry that this is happening to you.”

 

“Thank you for worrying about me,” Rossi said, taking on a more chipper tone, “Besides, if it ever comes to it, I’m positive Ladybug can knock some sense back into me.”

“And I’m certain she’ll do her best to keep you safe,” Marinette added.

“Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lila said, waving goodbye as she departed from her friends.

“Do you honestly think you can help her?” Alya asked, just as the red-head was out of earshot.

 

“I know I can.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are probably going to hate what I have planned for Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Chat Noir....  
> And I'm probably going to enjoy it, whether that sounds sadistic or not.  
> Be sure to comment on how I'm doing!  
> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homework, humor, and a long awaited arrival...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to check out my profile and see some of my other stories, including Black Huntsman, my first original work!

“So, what if I combine the like variables and then divide the whole by the remaining number?” Chloé suggested as her pencil strode over her mathematics paper on a table in the lobby of the campus.

“It’s a good start,” Marinette complimented, leaning in from her seat to check the work, “But the question needs an equal solution.”

“Ugh,” the blonde groaned, flopping back into her chair, “My brain wants to die.”

 

The sunlight was positioned well enough to hit Chloé’s clothes. Her sunshine yellow long-sleeve cropped bolero radiated a warming glow that was absorbed by her black V-neck t-shirt underneath. The soothing aura glinted off of the golden finish on the circular buckle of her white belt, wrapped snugly around her black skinny jeans with yellow seam trimming, which flowed down to her yellow shoes.

She didn’t have the chance to notice before, but Marinette now saw that Chloé had changed her style. Rather than having obnoxiously light pink lipstick, she now had a calm cherry-red and her eye-shadow from a pale indigo to a faint standard black. As for her hair, rather than being parted down the middle, it smoothly flowed to her left side, hanging a bit above her eyebrow as it seamlessly transitioned to her trademark ponytail, which was based lower on the back of her head.

 

“Maybe, you can come back to that one later,” Lila proposed, sitting next to Marinette, “Let’s if we can’t try that problem with the x files…”

“La vérité est dehors là,” Alya muttered as she stared at her phone, her feet propped comfortably on the coffee table in front of them.

 

(Translate from French for a possibly cringe-worthy reference)

 

“Honestly, though,” Chloé admitted, sitting up as she turned her attention to Marinette, “Thank you for helping me. I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have been able to graduate high school without you.”

“And don’t ever forget it!” Alya humorously warned, looking up from her phone.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Bourgeois defended, raising her hands, “Who wouldn’t like this adorable and well-dressed muffin?”

 

Marinette could live with being called adorable. As for well-dressed, it was only because she actually had time this morning to put some thought into her outfit.

Her hair now was pulled back into a braid, leaving her bangs to loosely hang just above her eyebrow. She wore a black collared jacket, but her sleeves were longer; to the point where the very edge of the cuff stopped halfway up the back of her hands. The cuffs on her sleeves also had three buttons for splits that reached down to her wrists, which she left buttoned up except the tops. The interior of the jacket was accented with bright pink, signifying that she still liked being a girly-girl.

Her shirt was mostly white except for a hot pink floral print based over her right hip, as the bright sleeves were long enough to actually cover knuckles, but had holes for her thumbs.

Her pants were dark grey skinny jeans, but with her slender build, it fit a bit closer to normal jeans. As for her shoes, they were black suedes with laces that had the same pink hue as her floral print.

It was a simple outfit, but sometimes simple looked good; as in really good.

 

“Class starts in twenty,” Nino popped in, bringing Marinette back to reality, “Want to head there now?”

“Sure, babe,” Alya grunted as she lifted herself from her seat.

“The odds of us all having the same classes together baffles me,” Lila muttered as she grabbed her single-strap backpack.

 

The five entered the lobby’s elevator calmly, giving the young man time to press the floor button.

As the elevator ascended, it gave Marinette a chance to finally get a good look at Nino’s new style.

 

He still had his trademark black-rimmed glasses and orange-cushioned headphones, but swapped out his red cap for a vibrant tangerine beanie, which hung loosely on the back of his head.

He now had an aquamarine hoodie with graffiti-style print lined up on his left sleeve, wearing a dark blue t-shirt underneath with the same-style print all over his chest. And he even had standard navy-blue jeans with blue tennis shoes; with a rich blue bag resting on his back.

Simply put, his outfit was so blue, it made Marinette’s eyes hurt.

The elevator dinged, making the doors open to the fourth floor.

Marinette blinked her eyes a couple times before rubbing them gently. Nino’s clothes actually made her eyes hurt.

 

_20-30 minutes later…_

 

“So, as you can see,” the psychology professor droned on, writing on his chalk-board as the class sat and stared with such unbridled and well-deserved boredom.

Marinette sat in her seat with her chin in her hand, making her bottom lip poke out farther.

She understood that psychology could help her with design; as an example, if a client asked for a certain style, she would be able to accommodate by knowing how he or she acts.

But had she known it was going to be this unamusing, she would have had second thoughts.

Just then, she felt her phone buzz faintly in her pocket. The girl stealthily pulled it out and unlocked it, the screen displaying she had a message from Lila, whom had also sent it to Alya, Chloé, and Nino.

 

It read:

_Twenty euros says that whenever this guy has a date, he’s like, “Hey baby, how ‘bout we psycho-analyze each other on my bed.”_

 

Marinette softly snorted as she covered her mouth, trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

Her phone buzzed again.

 

Nino had responded with: _“Oh yeah, those are some nice frontal lobes you got there.”_

Then, Alya: _“You really get my hypothalamus goin’, sweet cheeks.”_

 

Marinette flipped her phone back over, clenching her fist as she was struggling in a losing battle with humor. Her eyes were closed and gradually secreting tears of laughter.

At this point, she could hear the others trying not to give, letting out brief snickers and breathy giggles.

Her phone buzzed once more.

 

Chloé replied: _“I really wanna cingulate gyrate in your room, baby.”_

Alya: _“I’ll show you a whole new meaning to the term ‘limbic system’.”_

Lila: _“I wanna be in amygdala your legs.”_

 

The last one got to Marinette so much, she accidentally snorted a little too loud.

 

“Apparently, I said something funny,” the professor calmly called out, turning around to face the class, “Could one of you please tell me what it was?”

 

Marinette covered her mouth even more, trying to act natural. However, she could feel the heat in her cheeks, which was giving her away.

 

“Miss Dupain-Cheng,” the instructor said, “Would you kindly enlighten me about what you found so humorous?”

 

(Listening to **A Normal Life, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Soundtrack** )

 

Just then, a knock on the lecture hall door cut through the tension.

Marinette let out a sigh of relief, fully knowing well that a late student had just saved her from being kicked from the class.

 

The psychology instructor opened the door, revealing a tall, blonde young man with a knapsack slung over his shoulder.

 

“Am I late?” the late teen asked.

“I’m afraid so,” the instructor answered, “About a day and half an hour late…”

 

“… Monsieur Agreste.”

 

Agreste?

Marinette slightly raised from her seat, attempting to gain a better look. She stared at the figure of the grown boy while he silently chatted with the professor.

Golden hair, slim frame, and those brilliant emerald eyes.

 

Adrien Agreste.

 

The once man of her dreams, the same one that disappeared for three years after the revelation of his father, was now standing at the door of her class.

Normally, her fifteen-year-old self would have been squealing like a tea-kettle right now as drops of sweat ran down the side of her face. But now, all she could feel was pity and empathy, with a faint sense of sorrow.

 

“Please, find a seat and I will continue class,” the instructor explained, ushering the boy towards the desks.

 

**(End Music)**

 

_A couple hours later…_

 

“Your friends are funny,” Tikki giggled as she hovered in front of Marinette as the girl sat docile on a bench outside.

“So funny that they nearly got me in trouble on my second day,” Dupain-Cheng responded with a genuine smile, “But I do love them.”

 

“Aww, you love us,” Lila goofily mocked as she approached with Alya, “If you love us so much, why don’t you marry us?”

Before Rossi could notice, Tikki zipped back into Marinette’s bag. She disappeared so quickly that it almost looked like she blinked out of existence.

 

“Love can be platonic too,” Chloé replied, approaching from the other side, “Besides, you’d have to get in line with all the other few thousand people already trying to marry her.”

 

“Hey!” Nino called from afar, practically sprinting to catch up.

The boy huffed and heaved as he stopped in front of the group of girls, placing his hands on his knees and hanging his head.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lila asked.

“Are you okay?” Chloé followed up.

“Do I need to perform CPR?” Alya jokingly suggested, “I think I should.”

 

“Have you guys met up with Adrien yet?” Lahiffe questioned, still panting.

“No, why?” Marinette asked.

 

“Dude, he’s swanky as hell now,” Nino softly told Marinette, “Did you see what he was wearing?”

“No,” Alya answered.

 

Nino accordingly pulled out his phone and unlocked it, scrolling through his pictures as quickly as possible.

He then spun his phone around and displayed a picture of Adrien to the group.

 

Well, Nino wasn’t wrong about the whole good-looking thing.

Adrien’s hair was combed over to his right, his bangs long enough to flow just above his eyebrow and had enough lift to pull off a proper comb-over. It wasn’t as messy as his original bowl-cut, but had enough to be considered controlled chaos.

He wore a black leather jacket with a white button-down shirt underneath, wearing a light grey waistcoat with black buttons, having the very top and bottom ones undone. A black tie was loosely wrapped around his neck, which, upon closer inspection, had stripes of gold, lime, and lavender running diagonally in that order.

He had a brown belt snugly over the waist of his dark grey pants; Marinette couldn’t tell if they were jeans or actual slacks. The cuffs of his pants rippled and waved as they fell on his casual dress shoes, the soles rounding around his toes.

Nino must have taken this picture when Adrien wasn’t looking, as his attention was apparently directed somewhere off the screen. But still, he somehow managed to make it look like he was posing for a model session.

The man was either _that_ attractive or was extremely photogenic.

 

“Wow,” Chloé commented, “Just when you think he couldn’t get any more handsome.”

“Yeah, I talked with him earlier,” Nino explained, “Well, more like _to_ him. He just seemed really out of it. Kinda like he was daydreaming.”

“Where is he now?” Marinette questioned, handing the boy his phone back.

“Conference meeting at his company’s building,” Lahiffe answered, “And before you correct me, yes, I did say _his_ company. Adrien is now the majority shareholder. Why do you want to know?”

 

“I’m going to go talk to him,” the girl replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun things happened while I was away.   
> Parents renewed their vows and were out of town for the majority of the week, fell behind on college-work, burned my arm while cooking.  
> Yeah, now I've got a quarter-inch wide and inch-and-a-half long brownish-red mark on the side of my forearm that won't be going away anytime soon.  
> Fun times!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old friends reunite under prying eyes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two chapters in one day... That's new.

“Our stocks are dropping again,” a businessman depressingly announced to a long table of shareholders and associates.

Adrien sat at the very end of the table, not paying attention to the meeting at all as he stared off into space while leaning back into his chair.

The last three years were a blur, recalling it all felt like looking at sloppy painting that was still wet, as it appeared distorted, hazy, and extremely difficult to identify.

 

First, Ladybug.

He wouldn’t dare say or even think that she was in the wrong. What she said was true, he was childish and attention-seeking, but how she said it could have used some… kindness.

His heart still ached since that day, even over these three years.

 

Second, his father.

His god-forsaken father.

Cold, neglectful, callous, and ignorant. Always putting his work before his family. Kept his own son imprisoned within his own home simply because he thought it was too dangerous for someone like him.

And to top it all off, he was Paris’ greatest supervillain.

 

Adrien clenched his fist angrily.

As if he needed any more reason to hate his father.

Gabriel didn’t care if he hurt anyone, so long as he got what he wanted.

 

Adrien’s mother.

 

The boy desperately wanted her back too, almost as badly as his father did. But he wasn’t going to sacrifice dozens, if not, hundreds of people just to bring her back.

Not even his mother was worth innocent lives, as much as it hurt to believe that.

 

But his father was not excused for his actions.

His unmasking shocked the entire city to its core. It sullied his name and company. Even Adrien began to get flak just by being his son.

And before he was thrown into prison, the man gave Adrien his company.

 

Seriously? Giving a fifteen-year-old kid a multi-billion-dollar corporation, that was now failing because of its creator’s transgressions?

 

Adrien huffed a puff of air out his nose, barely shaking his head. He couldn’t even fathom how his father’s thought process worked. The boy himself didn’t actually run the company, he was too young.

Which forced all of the heavy work onto Nathalie. That poor woman, who had no clue on how to run a fashion company, was now tasked with upholding the failing Gabriel Corporation.

Not a night went by where Adrien couldn’t hear her slaving away to make up for him.

 

The only good thing he had right now and could possibly imagine was college, and even that felt mundane.

 

Adrien Agreste. The lonely, depressed model son of a super-powered psychopath.

Well, there might be worse things to have on your headstone, right?

 

“Monsieur Agreste?” an associate called, bringing the boy back to reality, “Is everything alright?”

 

“Je suis désolé,” Agreste apologized, “I’ve been a little distracted lately. Please continue.”

“Comme vous souhaitez,” the businessman obliged, “Since our stock has been dropping, it has forced us to lay off many of our employees---.”

“And by lay off,” Adrien interrupted, “You mean quit because they don’t want to work for a company previously owned by a supervillain.”

 

“Monsieur Agreste,” the associate started, sorrowed by the fact.

“Just call me Adrien,” the boy demanded politely, “I’m the majority shareholder, not your boss.”

 

The businessman audibly gulped and begrudgingly said, “Adrien… we know that times have been tough for you. Your father’s… occupational habits are nothing to pass by. But please know that we are willing to suffer with you and do everything we can to help you succeed.”

“I understand,” Adrien politely replied, “But I would like to get straight to the point. What do we need to do to save our asses?”

 

“Most of our designers have left,” the associate explained, “Leaving us with a deficiency in productivity. What we need is an individual with astounding skills in both fashion and design, as well as adaptability to a tight schedule and large projects, even an intern will suffice.”

“So, a miracle, then?” another associate summed up.

“Where would we even find such a person?” another questioned.

 

Just then, the door to the conference room opened and a male secretary leaned in.

“Monsieur Agreste?” the secretary said, “There is someone here to see you. Mlle Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

 

(Listening to **You Need Me, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack** )

 

Adrien froze upon hearing her name.

What was he going to do?

 

“I want any and every application on my desk as soon as possible,” the boy gently ordered as he rose from his seat to walk out.

 

Marinette’s eyes stared in awe as she scanned the white polished entryway, listening to the secretaries click away on their keyboards as she moseyed backwards towards the staircase behind her.

 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” a familiar male voice said.

 

The girl turned around to see Adrien standing in the middle of the stairs, locking her gaze with his.

 

“Adrien,” she croaked, “It’s, uhm, it’s been a while.”

“Three years,” the boy awkwardly replied, “What’s, uh, what’s up?”

“I… heard you were in town,” the girl answered, carefully shuffling closer, “I just… wanted to see if… you were doing okay?”

“Uhm, yeah,” Agreste responded, “But, umm… yeah, I’m kind of in the middle of something… right now.”

Marinette stopped where she was, which wasn’t far from where she started.

Even she could tell that he didn’t want her here.

 

“Désolé,” she muttered, turning around to see herself out, “I don’t want to intrude. I just wanted to see how you were doing. It was good to see you.”

 

Adrien hung his head, staring at his feet.

Was this the right thing to do? Was he really going to push away his friend simply because his company needed him?

 

“You got rid of your pigtails,” the boy said loudly, the corner of his mouth slightly raising up as he came down a few more steps.

 

That phrase got Marinette to halt and turn around in faint surprise, feeling a heartwarming welcome to a long-lost friend.

 

“Now there’s nothing to distract from those puppy-blue eyes,” Agreste finished, his perfect smile slowly coming into existence.

 

Marinette softly chuckled, feeling a smile creep over her face.

“There he is,” she giggled, “Do you still have people blow-dry your hair every morning?”

 

“Well, I have one of my manservants hold the hair-dryer while another brushes my teeth,” Adrien joking but casually responded while beginning to shrug, “But I do the comb and toothpaste, so hey, I’m not completely useless.”

 

The two then began to laugh as Marinette hopped closer, opening her arms out for a hug.

Adrien did so as well, wrapping his arms around his friend as he welcomed her embrace, feeling her hand gently pat his back.

 

Minutes later, the two casually walked on a boardwalk over a river, talking and catching up on their lives as they passed by an amusement park. The sounds of children laughing and playing filled the air around them.

It was cloudless, and the sun was bright, forcing Marinette to wear her black Wayfarer sunglasses and Adrien to his chrome Aviators with windguards.

 

“So, I actually went to Dubai for a few months,” Adrien explained as they walked, “Got called back to France to save my father’s company. Which ultimately led me to London for a modeling job.”

“Yeah, I saw you there,” Marinette interjected.

 

The sentence almost made Adrien freeze, creasing his brow in confusion.

“What do you mean you saw me?” the boy asked.

“I saw you in some magazine somewhere,” the girl explained as they approached a set of wooden stairs.

 

The girl hopped up onto the slick metal railing and slid down the short pipe, landing back down as soon as it ended.

 

“Yeah, the whole modeling thing is exhausting,” Adrien said as he slid down the pipe himself.

“Aww, poor baby,” Marinette humorously replied, making the both of them giggle in response.

 

The two approached the edge of the boardwalk, larger rail guards preventing them from falling into the river.

“So,” Marinette started, leaning on the railing, “What’s new in the life of famous model Adrien Agreste? You find a lady?”

The blonde chuckled pathetically as he carefully vaulted himself over the railing, landing his feet on the very edge of the wooden framing and he still clung onto the dark piping.

“That is the question,” he answered, “I would like to say that I at least found her.”

“Does she like you back?” the girl asked.

“Unfortunately not,” the model replied, “But we met up earlier, and something’s telling me she might’ve changed her mind.”

“Well, I hope she comes to her senses,” Marinette comforted, “What girl wouldn’t want to spend the rest of their lives with you?”

 

**(End Music)**

 

Several minutes later, the two stood at the edge of the river, standing on a bedside made of gravel and stone.

Both had taken their coats and bags off, setting them on a large rock farther back.

 

“So, what about the life of future designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” Adrien asked, picking up a flat stone and tumbling it in his hands.

“What is there to know?” the girl followed up, tossing her own stone into the water, watching it skid across the water.

“You find someone yet?” the boy questioned, hurling his miniature slab.

 

“Um,” Marinette hummed as she lowered herself, bring her knees to her chest, “Yeah. No. I don’t know, it’s… complicated.”

“My dad’s a supervillain,” Adrien responded, “Try me.”

“There was… one guy that tried to get with me,” Dupain-Cheng answered, “But, um, I accidentally broke his heart.”

“Okay, you do not ‘accidentally’ break someone’s heart,” the model replied.

“You sound like Alya,” the black-haired girl mumbled as she picked up another stone.

“Then, Alya is wise. You should listen to her.”

“Nonetheless, I guess I broke it to him a little too harshly,” Marinette continued, “He kind of left for a while after that; really didn’t give me chance to apologize for being so rude.”

 

“Well, it probably can’t be worse than a psychopath father giving his fifteen-year-old kid his multi-billion-dollar company,” Adrien attempted to humorously trump, “Then, expect him to run the damn thing when nobody will even look at the product anymore.”

The blonde then lazily tossed the stone he picked up into the water, resulting in an awkward splashing sound.

Marinette could understand what Adrien was going through, mostly because she was going through the same thing.

They both had someone leave them, hating themselves silently for not knowing any better.

Marinette scolded herself for not being a good friend to Chat, and it burned her to her core knowing she had basically told her partner she hated him.

“Yeah, I guess we have the same problem,” she said, standing up.

 

“We both got dumped.”

 

Marinette then hurled the stone in her hand at the water, causing it to skip several times across the surface as she accidentally let loose with her strength.

Adrien’s eyes widened with surprise and awe as he wheezed a laugh.

 

“Nice arm!” he complimented.

“Oh, you know,” the girl attempted to cover up, “It’s all in the wrist.”

 

“Screw that! You’ve gotten so much stronger!” Adrien’s voice crackled through a radio.

 

Three men in black and white monster masks sat in a black sedan car on the other side of the river, a sonar microphone pointed at the boy and girl.

“Who’s the girl?” one of them asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” the second responded.

 

“So, I guess we’ll call her our new hostage,” the third said.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who are these shady fellows watching Marinette and Adrien?   
> What will they do next?   
> Will this be a job for the Miraculous Ladybug?!  
> Find out Wednesday, or next Monday?   
> I don't know, you'll get some answers as soon as I can post the next chapter.  
> But for now, I must attend to my studies!  
> Education, AWAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette revisits a departed friend while the plot thickens in the shadows...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you marielouiseanne and Shannon for showing your love! It actually took me by surprise you liked it so much!

(Listening to **Nothing Is True, Assassin’s Creed Unity Soundtrack** )

 

It was cold for an August day. The air was chilled enough to warrant heavier jackets, the rising sun splashing the sky with vibrant golden yellows and vivid oranges against the dull grey of the fading night sky.

 

Marinette eyed each headstone she passed, the frosted wind blowing through her loose hair. The flaps on the back of her black trench coat flopped against the back of her upper legs as she continued her stroll through the cemetery.

She came to a stop in front of one particular grave.

A grave she had hoped would have waited a little longer.

 

Master Fu’s grave.

 

The endearing old man had died two years ago from being shot in the chest and had his car stolen from a burglar that Marinette could have stopped.

He was helping her apply to college ahead of time, and as an act of random kindness, he gave her a ride. It was before she left the car that he had revealed he was the one who had given her the power of Ladybug.

 

Marinette looked down at the base of the headstone, noticing someone had placed a bouquet of roses near it.

They were shriveling and wilting, fading from their bold scarlet hue to an earthy brown.

 

Tikki popped out of Marinette’s knapsack and hovered above the bunch of flowers.

Marinette kneeled down and tenderly placed her hand over the petals, softly glazing her palm over the floral giving.

 

The muddy color retreated as the warming red swiftly flooded over the petals, causing the buds to bloom open with vivid life.

 

“Repos dans la paix, maître,” Marinette whispered, gradually standing back up.

 

(Listening to **The Grim Reavers, LOGAN Soundtrack** )

 

“What do you mean ‘leave her alone’?” the masked stalker angrily questioned.

“We do not need the girl to obtain our prize,” a man answered, his masked face hidden within the shadows as he sat in his lush chair, the overhead light only showing his well-dressed body.

“But we now have the chance to bribe the Agreste boy into giving it to us,” the henchman protested, “There’s no better opportunity than this, or has our infamous gang leader gone completely mad?!”

 

Suddenly, three large needles zipped towards the thug’s throat, hovering mid-air as the tips were mere breaths away from plunging into his skin; a ghastly black and violet aura surrounding the floating weapons like waves to an ocean.

The needles inched closer to the henchman’s neck, forcing him to stumble back and down to his knees.

 

The lax man smoothly pushed himself up, his head still concealed in the shadows.

 

“As fate would have it, you should be bleeding out on the floor and choking on your blood right now,” the gang leader calmly said, “But you apparently have forgotten your place, so I will be merciful.”

“Please,” the thug pleaded.

“It would be a shame,” the leader hummed, “Hearing that your family was evicted from your home, leaving your poor disabled son to fend for himself without a father.”

 

“Please, cher Dieu,” the henchman begged, “Please, forgive me.”

 

The gang leader then stepped forward, his dress shoes clacking against the floor as his head entered into the light.

His mask was frightening, shaped like a skull with fearsome teeth and eyes.

 

Dear God, the eyes.

 

It was like looking into pitch-black marbles with tiny glowing white dots, like the glint of an animal’s.

 

“Just remember,” the towering man hissed, “I own you. So, when I say the moment is not opportune, you will listen and obey without a doubt in that simple mind of yours.”

 

The needles slowly receded away from the thug’s throat, allowing the lowered man to rub his neck.

 

“This girl,” the gang leader smoothly started, “This…Marinette, she is nothing but an insignificant variable. Greater opportunities will present themselves in time. And once they do, nothing will be able to stop us.”

 

“What about Ladybug?” the kneeling thug gently asked.

 

The leader then pulled out a headshot photo of the masked, polka-dotted hero, tossing it to the ground in front of the henchman.

Suddenly, one of the needles pierced through the air at lightning speed, plunging its razor tip down into the picture.

 

Right in between Ladybug’s eyes.

 

“Let us see how she fares against le Roi des Démons.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant it when I said the plot thickens...  
> But anyways, be sure to let me know how I can make this new bad guy more terrifying!  
> Advice and comments are always welcome!


End file.
